Lawn sprinklers



June 26, 19 T. E. WHITEHEAD LAWN SPRINKLERS Filed March 4, 1954 INVENTORi dmslflzisead BY M ATTORNEY m 6 i a 2 M i III! k .PJI n 1. I H

LAWN SPRINKLERS Thomas E. Whitehead, Pleasantvilie, N. 3.

Application March 4, 1954, Serial No. 414,147

2 Claims. (Cl. 299-61) My invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in lawn sprinklers and more particularly to a lawnsprinkler especially adapted for use on golf greens.

As is well known, the conventional metal sprinkler head that is buriedin the ground is substantially two inches in diameter, and the grass hasto be cut away from the circumference of these metal sprinkler heads sothat the water may go out in a circular spray. Therefore it isimpractical to use the conventional sunken metal sprinkler heads on golfgreens. Thus the golf greens have to be watered by hand, or, the movabletype of sprinkler is used and if the latter, it is necessary for thegreenkeeper to be continually moving the sprinkler.

One of the objects of the present invention, therefore, is to provide asprinkler that is to be permanently buried in the ground, and whereinthere is a small rubber flexible tube that is projected and retractedthrough the sod; and inasmuch as the tube is not over half an inch indiameter, it may be used without any likelihood of the golf ball beingdeflected when putted or driven'up onto the green.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler of apermanent nature wherein there is a relatively small rubber tube that isto be projected up through the sod when the water is turned on, but themoment the water is turned off the tube falls back into its casing.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler providedwith a disappearing tube and wherein when the water is turned on it willfirst wash or flush around the tube and the inner walls of the casingbefore the sprinkling action takes place, so that the tube may never beretarded in its projection or retraction through the sod, even after thegreens have been rolled, or the golfers have walked over the green orsod where the sprinkler is planted.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a flexible tubefastened and weighted at its one end and to be projected or elevatedwhen the water is turned on and retracted when the water has been turnedoff.

Furthermore the tube has spiral grooves around its outer circumferenceso that the tube will swing in a circle from its pivotal point, that is,at the top of the casing.

As fully explained in Patent No. 2,613,993 a short flexible tube that isprovided with spiral grooves on its outer circumference will swing in acircle, when water is forced therethrough, rather than just whip backand forth; and the greater the water pressure the farther the tube willbend towards the horizontal.

With this principle in mind and the above and other objects in view, theinvention consists in certain new and novel arrangements and combinationof parts as hereinafter will be more fully described and pointed out inthe claims.

Referring now to the drawings,

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of my improved sprinkler, the dottedlines showing the tube in its operative or extended position.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l,

2,752,195 Patented June 26, 1956 Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, sectionalView, showing a slight modification at the top of the casing, and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing cross-wires in the end of the tube.

Referring now to the drawings, and for the moment to Fig. 1, there isshown a metal casing 1 with a plug 2 in its bottom, having the orifice 3which is connected with a supply pipe 4. The plug 2 is recessed at itstop as at 5 on which normally rests a small weighted piston 6 which hasthe channel 7 extending therethrough, which channel 7 is directly overthe orifice 3 in the plug 2.

Secured to the upper end of the piston 6 is the lower end 8 of aflexible rubber tube 9 that will be explained in detail shortly. Alsosecured to the upper end of the piston 6 is the rubber valve closure 10whose outside diameter is a few hundredths of an inch less that theinside diameter of the casing 1. The length of the rubber tube 9 isabout eight inches and when the casing 1 is buried in the ground thetube 9s upper end 11 when in its inoperative position will be below thesurface of the grass 12 even when the grass 12 is cut or trimmed, sothat there is no danger of a lawn mower cutting off any part of theupper end 11 of the tube 9.

The rubber tube 9 is provided with spiral grooves 13 on its outercircumference as it has been found, as explained at great length inPatent No. 2,613,993, that a tube so provided (that is, with spiralgrooves) will swing from its pivotal point in a circle, when water isrun through the same, rather than just whip back and forth; and thegreater the pressure of the water the greater the tube will bend towardsa horizontal position.

Thus I have found that with the ordinary water pressure the sprinklerillustrated will sprinkle over an area of about forty feet in diameter.

As shown in the preferred form, at the top of the casing 1, I haveprovided a metal cap 14 with its passage way 15 therethrough and in thetop of the cap 14 there is placed a rubber gasket 16 so that as the tube9 slides up and down into the casing 1, or when in its circularmovement, there will be no metal touching or in contact with the rubbertube 9.

It will be understood that the weight of the piston 6 with its rubbertube 9 is such that they willbe elevated to their uppermost positionwhen the water is turned on, but will drop to their lowermost positionas soon as the water is turned off.

By placing the valve closure 10 with larger cross-sectional area thanthe piston 6 at the top of the piston 6, it tends to keep the piston 6in vertical position as the center of gravity and the weight are belowthe valve closure 10.

In Fig. 3 there is shown a slight modification in that at the top of thecasing 1 there is an internally threaded plug 14' with its opening 15and in which there is a small guide of rubber tubing 16' so that thereis no possibility of any metal at the top of the casing 1 protrudingabove the sod.

In both the preferred and the modified forms, it will be noticed thatthe openings 15 and 15' through which the tube 9 passes at the upper endof the casing 1 are slightly greater in diameter than the outsidediameter of the rubber tube 9 so that the water when the sprinkler isfirst turned on will flow or shoot around the tube 9 and through thespiral grooves 13 and out of the top of the opening in the casing 1 aswell as through the center of the tube 9 to thus flush any sand or dirtthat might have been around the tube 9 where it enters the casing 1.This is an impor tant feature as otherwise the continuous rolling of thegreens would soon prevent the tube 9 from being extended from its casing1, and the dirt and sand might also tend to cut the same.

In Fig. 4 I have shown small crosswires 17 that will be secured in theouter end of the 'tube 9.

The operation is simple in that as soon as the water is turned on in thesupply pipe 4, it will start raising the piston 6 and its tube 9 butwill also flow around the valve closure 10 and out the upper end of thecasing 1 to flush and clean out the entrance.

Then as the piston 6 reaches its uppermost position, it will cause thevalve closure 10 to jam againstthe bottom of the cap 14 and thus preventany water from going out around the tube 9 or the spiral grooves 13, andthe water then may only pass centrally through the piston 6 and throughthe flexible tube 9.

As heretofore mentioned, the greater the water pressure the more thetube 9 will swing in a circle, approaching the horizontal; and as thewater is cut down, the tube 9 will again approach the vertical; andfinally when the water is turned oif, the tube 9 will be in a verticalposition and its weighted piston 6 will pull the tube 9 down to itsnormal inoperative position.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have designed a lawn sprinklerwith a disappearing or retractable tube or nozzle, the tube in turnbeing relatively small in diameter so that it may well be used on thegolf green without interfering with the putting; and wherein there isbut one moving part; and wherein before each sprinkling operation thecasing, at the upper end especially, and also the hole in the sodthrough which the tube passes are flushed out or washed out.

Again if a sprinkler were in operation when golfers were on the green,it is but a matter of a moment to turn off the water and the tube willdrop to its normal position in the casing, and of course, out of theway.

Finally, it will be understood that although the sprinkler is especiallyadapted for use on golf greens it can, of course, be used as well on anylawns.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a lawn sprinkler a casing, a weighted piston loosely mountedtherein and having a central aperture v therethrough, a flexible rubbertube secured to the upper end of said piston and provided with spiralgrooves on its outer circumference throughout its length; a valveclosure secured near the upper end of the piston, an inlet pipeextending within the bottom of said casing, a cap for the top of thecasing, provided with a central orifice of slightly greater internaldiameter than the outside diameter of the tube, the bottom of the capacting as a valve seat; the valve closure being less in outside diameterthan the internal diameter of the casing; the piston and rubber tubeadapted to rise in the casing when water is admitted to the casing andto flow around the valve closure and through the aperture in the capuntil the piston reaches its full height, when the valve closure willclose the said valve and prevent the water from going out through theopening in the cap around the tube to thereby cause the water to flowonly through the rubber tube and, due to the spiral grooves about thetube, will cause the tube to swing in :a circle with the top of the capas a pivotal point.

2. In a lawn sprinkler a casing, a weighted piston loosely mountedtherein and having .a central aperture therethrough, a flexible rubbertube secured to the upper end of said piston and provided with spiralgrooves on its outer circumference throughout its length; a valveclosure secured near the upper end of the piston, an inlet pipeextending within the bottom of said casing, a cap for the top of thecasing in the form of an internally threaded plug provided with acentral aperture and a rubber guide mounted within the aperture of theplug and extending above the said plug, the internal diameter of theguide being greater than the outside diameter of the tube, the bottom ofthe cap acting as a valve seat; the valve closure being less in outsidediameter than the internal diameter of the casing; the piston and rubbertube adapted to rise in the casing when water is admitted to the casingand to flow around the valve closure and through the aperture in the capuntil the piston reaches its full height, when the valve closure willclose the said valve and prevent the water from going out through theopening in the cap around the tube to thereby cause the water to flowonly through the rubber tube and, due to the spiral grooves about thetube, will cause the tube to swing in a circle with the top of the cap.as a pivotal point.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,906,621 Knuth May 2, 1933 1,919,247 Munz July 25, 1933 2,613,993Holden Oct. 14, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 132,977 Australia June 1, '1949

